Vigil held for boy whose killing still a mystery

CASEY MCNERTHNE, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Published 10:00 pm, Tuesday, May 4, 2010

From left, Tasha Leton, 12, Angelique Davenport, 13, and Alexis Niemi, 13, embrace during a vigil for their classmate and good friend Alajawan Brown, 12, in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store on Martin Luther King Way South and South 129th Street in Skyway. Alajawan Brown died in the parking lot of the convenience store on April 29 when he was shot after getting off the bus.
Photo: Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com

From left, Tasha Leton, 12, Angelique Davenport, 13, and Alexis...

Ayanna Brown, mother of Alajawan Brown, sings during a vigil for her son in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store on Martin Luther King Way South and South 129th Street in Skyway. The crowd gathered to pay their respects to Alajawan Brown, a 12 year-old boy who died in the parking lot of the convenience store on April 29 when he was shot after getting off the bus.
Photo: Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com

More than 200 people came Wednesday night to the Skyway 7-Eleven, where six days earlier 12-year-old Alajawan Brown collapsed and died in the parking lot, the victim of a still-unsolved shooting.

When his mother asked how many people knew her son, about half the crowd raised their hands. Those who did, she said, knew Alajawan was not a sad kid.

"This ain't no funeral," Ayanna Brown told the crowd, "this is a celebration, all right? So cry if you must, but it's a party."

And as the gathering ended, Pastor Doc Rivers told the people to hug someone -- hug the person next to you, hug somebody all the way home. Shortly before his death, Brown had told members of his church he wanted to organize a fundraiser to make the community closer.

Alajawan was a junior football player in Renton. He played any position he could, his father said -- center, guard, running back, wide receiver. About 6 p.m. April 29, he got off a Metro bus near the Cedar Village Apartments at 6230 S. 129th St.

A group that police say may have included gang members fired more than 20 rounds, and Alajawan was caught in the crossfire. He ran to the 7-Eleven for help and died there when CPR efforts failed.

King County Sheriff's deputies say he was a random victim.

"We still haven't found the sacks that he bought his football shoes with," his father, Louis Brown said. "The video shows he got off the bus with his bags."

Titu Sarai, who has owned the 7-Eleven for 23 years, provided food and coffee for the service, and in a speech gave the Brown family condolences. A pastor said Sarai had barely slept since the scene unfolded in his parking lot.

A memorial with a football helmet, handwritten notes, flowers and stuffed animals covered a section of the parking lot. Posters hung in the windows, and one appeared on the store phone booth.

No one has come forward with enough information to make an arrest.

"The investigation has been hampered somewhat by a reluctance of witnesses to come forward, or in some cases, be forthcoming," King County Sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said.

Alajawan's mother pleaded for someone to come forward. Family and friends said they're praying for a break before his funeral on Monday, and police said even anonymous tipsters can call 1-800-222-TIPS.

"I don't care who did this," O'Neal told the crowd that included dozens of teenagers. "It they repent, God will forgive them and they'll be in heaven with him."

Funeral plans

The funeral for Alajawan Brown is scheduled for 11 a.m. May 10 at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Baptist Church in Renton.